Page 22 of Sex, Lust & Lingerie

CHAPTER 14

Jaime

Unpacked, I stepped out onto the terrace of my beachfront hotel suite, overlooking the Pacific and the wide sandy beach. Unlike sunny Westwood where I’d dropped Gloria off an hour ago, the weather here was overcast. The sky foggy, the air damp, the sea a steely gray. Typical for early February. There were few beach-goers… just some ardent surfers braving the rough ocean in search of the perfect wave.

The climate fit my mood. Clutching the balcony railing, I sucked in a breath of the cool salty air. Being in Los Angeles always messed with my head. I was born and raised here. Abused and abandoned was more like it. Abandoned by my artist father, who I adored, when he took his life after sinking deeper and deeper into drugs and depression upon losing his cherished wife, my self-centered, social-climbing mother to another. A bastard. Victor Holden, my black-hearted billionaire stepfather, who despised me. Perceived me as a threat. And who with his sicko daughter Vivien tried to destroy me.

And yet, despite all this, I still had a love for LA. Probably because of my father. When sober, he’d taken me everywhere. Shown me everything to love. The museums, the landmarks, and the coastline which inspired him most of all. So much that I’d toyed with expanding my business out here which made sense with the growing number of clients who were either in LA or Silicon Valley as well as in Asia. Plus, I already owned a parcel of land that I could build on.

Hanging on the terrace, I glanced down at my watch. The time: 2 p.m. which meant it was 5 p.m. in New York. Deciding I should give my trusted assistant Ray a call, I headed back into my suite and speed dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring and I told him where I was.

He, in turn, filled me on the latest office news.

“We finished up the SIN-TV spot this morning.”

“How is it?”

“Fan-frickin’-awesome. I’ll send it to you.”

I waited eagerly while it came through the drop box on my computer. I clicked open the file. True to Ray’s words, the spot was smoking hot.

“You should show it to Blake Burns while you’re out there.”

“Great idea.” Blake Burns was the head of the erotic Conquest Broadcasting cable channel. Despite the fact that his father owned the network, he was a rising star. Though a little younger than me, we’d hit it off and and become friends of sorts. I told Ray to set up a meeting for tomorrow morning.

“Are you going to see Gloria too?” he asked.

“Yeah. I plan to go to her headquarters tomorrow afternoon.”

“How long are you going to be out there?”

“I don’t know.” Pause. “As long as it takes.”

My voice trailed off and I ended the call. Ray had no clue why I’d really come to LA. About to take a nap, I was quickly reminded. The phone rang twice. Stopped. Then rang again. The voice was terse

“Turn on your TV to Channel 10.”

Click.My pulse sped up as I reached for the remote and clicked on Conquest Broadcasting News. My eyes stay riveted on the massive screen. One of the network’s lead reporters, Skye Collins, was breaking the story. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I clicked the TV off and immediately texted her, not wanting to hear her voice.

Me: “Here in LA. I want to see you.”

Her: “Any time. Any place.”

Less than thirty seconds later, everything was arranged. Thank fuck, not tonight.

I poured myself a drink to decompose. But I needed something more.

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